Rainwear



Dec. 26, 1961 ESMlTH RAINWEAR Filed April 21, 1958 F/ 6 65 INVENTORLAWRENCE E. SMITH AGE/VT United States Patent @fifice 3,014,218 RAINWE RThis invention relates to protective clothing, and more particularly,torainwear.

v Throughout the centuriesclothing has served primarily to protect theindividual wearer from the weather or other; aspects of his environment.Today clothing also serves a decorative function, and a great industryhas grownto supply both the decorative and the functional purposes, Inaddition to natural fibers, man has invented new fibers many of whichhave been designed for specific purposes, and the variety of clothingand materials available to. the individual purchaser has never beengreater thanat the present time. What were originally purely functionalarticles of clothing have, in recent years, become decorative as well,and the special designs in materialand garments serve toenhance thephysical appearance of the wearer as well as to protect him.

In spite of the great progress made by the discovery of new-fibers andin the design of articles of clothing themselves, protection from theweather is still a primaryproblem in th e production of clothing.

At present the coats and capes oifered to protect one from rain and snowhave manydisadvantages, one of which is thelack of adequate protection,especially in heavy' downpours. -,.Unless special hats are wornorumbrellas. are carried,.thevconstruction of the modern rain coat doesnot provide the protection necessary to keep water, especially whendriven by a hard wind, from penetrating the collar opening. Also, thecomplicated tailoringrequired by coats, limits the number of lengthswhich are available, and, as a result, many people find themselves in adownpour with rain gushing down their raincoatsand-into their shoes. 1

'It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide new andimproved rain wear.

Anotherobject .is to provide new and improved rain- ,wear which protectsduring hard driving rains, when protection is needed the most.

A further object of this invention is to provide functional rainwearwhich does not detract from the decorative appearance of other articlesof clothing worn therewith.-

Other objects and advantages of thisinvention will become, apparent witha reading of the following description, which should be consideredtogether with the accompanying drawings in which: I

, FIG. 1 is an illustration of the rainwear of this invention -asv itappears in use;

. FIG.2 is an illustration of a modification of the rainwear ofFIG. 1; I

.FIG. 3 is another modification of the rainwear in accordance with theprinciples of this invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates the rainwear of FIG. 1 showing openings therein;

FIG. 5 illustrates a further embodiment of the rainwear;of thisinvention; v

.FIG. 6 illustrates another modification of the rainwear of thisinvention; and v r FIG- 7,il1ustnates a cross-section of a portion ofthe rainwear of this invention to show details thereof.

Referringnow to the drawings in detail, and more Patented Dec. 26, 1961In use, since the garment 12 comprises a thin film of rain resistantmaterial such as a film of.vinyl, 'Mylar," poly propylene,or'polyethylene plastics, the garment is readily folded into asmallpackage which maybe carried on the person until needed. The garment12 issodesig'ned that it completely'covers an individual, having no openings corresponding to sleeves, buttoned front, or collar openings alongthe upper portion which can admit'moisture, even in the hardest rain. Asshown" in FIG. 1, the all-enveloping rainwear of this invention obviatesthe use or the need for umbrellas, since the upper portion of the weareris completely covered bythe single garment. It has been found that thegarment 1 2'w ill v vith'stand the heaviest rains while protecting thewearer completely for hours. 1 i

So as to accommodate persons of many sizes, the rainwear 12 is madewitha large diameterand is easily produced in many difierent lengthsandiwidths' to more properly fit persons and carriedfpackages of allsizes. If desired, the garment 12 may flare outwardly to'an open bottomhaving a'diameter greater than at'the top. The rain coat can be hung todry from aclothes line or other such facility, and since the materialfrom which the garment 12 is fastened is virtually waterproof, it dripsdry in a very short time. The garment 12 can readily be worn over anytype offclothi'ng and it is equally suitable for warm weatherlbecause it'is'large enough to permit full circulation of air aroundtheweareraswellfas' for cold climates when it"will serve as .'afwindbre'aker, at ths m me; allowing a clear v d t efin m 1mg: clothing of the wearer; There.isfno' fq'uestion" of the rainwear IZ'being-instyle. The clothingl'vjvorn under changes with the styles but the garment 12remains'constant yet giving'the eflfect of always being in the latestfashion? Q In FIG. 2 the rainwear 22 is formed ota material such asdescribed in FIG. 1 having one end' sealed at a curved line 23, to formatop portion 24. To one part'of the garment 22a belt 25 is' fastenedbymeansbfa strip member 26. As shown'in FIG. 1 the rainwear conformssomewhat to the shape of the wearer, but since many. individuals feelthat such an article of clothingis unflatteringly bulky, especiallyaround the middle, the belt 25 is provided so that it may be shapedbetter, and to the individual taste. A loop 27 of any: suitable materialmay be used to suspend the body 22 from any suitable support to allowfordrying. The belt 25 maybe used, also, to fasten the folded garmentinto a small, tight package.

In use, the rainwear 22 completely envelopes the wearer as shown inFIG. 1. The belt 25f riiay'bjaround the outside of the garment22,'which';t h en must'cOntain openings for the arms (not shown), andmay .be tied about the outside, or,,as an alternative, the belt 25, maybe fastened to the inner surface of the. garment 22 .and passed throughloops therein, or other such fastening members, and may be fastened fromthe inside. 1In addition it will also find utility for those personssuch as mailman whofmust carry bulky package s upon their backs and: tothose individuals such as paper boysor delivery men." v

One of thevirtues of an article such asthat of this invention is theease with which itlca'n be donned and dotted (sincether'e are nosleeves, buttons, and the like) and can be carried by. anyone, at any.time; The rainwear is made to be folded into a small package-whichreadily fits into a pocket or. purse. A modification of the rain garmentof FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 3. .The rain garment 32 comprises a'sheet of, rain resistant material which is sealed atone end along a line"33 to form a top portion 34;. An opening 35isprovided-in' the topportion 34 and may be reinforced as by a grommet 'or other suchannularshaped member.

The sealed end 33 of the garment 32 is narrower than the open endthereof and is shown as a straight strip, but it is also contemplatedthat the top portion 34 be curved as is the top portion 24 of the'garment of'FIG. 2. Pleats 36 are provided in the material itself toallow the material to open out in accordion fashion when worn. In thismanner the garment '32, when not being used, may be folded more easilyinto a small, compact mass by reason of the pleats 36. Since thematerial from which the garment 32' is fashioned is highly transparent,the pleats 36 are barely noticeable, and the vision of the wearer is notimpaired. The perforation 35 in the top portion 34 provides an easy andsuitable means for supporting the garment 32 vertically from a hook whennot in use. The top portion 34 also servesas a means for suspending thegarment by clothespins or the like.

As described above in the' description" ofFIG. 2, it is sometimesdesirable to have rainwear with openings for the hands or arms. In FIG.4 such a garment 42 is formed, as described earlier, from transparentwater repellant material which is generally in the shape of an envelopeor tube sealed along a line 43 at one end to be considered its front butwhich'may just as well be to the side or to the rear of the wearer. Thegarment is shown in FIG. 6 as extended, whereas actually, with nothingin it to support it, .the portion 66 would drape naturally in pleasingfolds about the wearer. However, this garment hasparticular utility forprotecting an individual who must 'keepwith him. some bulky object suchas a cart,'-a wagon, a baby carriage, or the like or may be occupied bya plurality of persons simultaneously. When two or more persons, such asat a football game, etc., are to occupy the same garment, one having theshape of those of FIGS. 2, 3, or 5 may also be used. The garment 62,while notso shown in FIG. 6, may also be provided at convenientlocations with hand and arm openings. The openings may include flappedopenings in which the flap is capable of being raised or lowered so thatpackagesmay be passed out from within the garment 1 itself. Since thegarment 62 is formed of extremely light form a top portion 44. Disposedsymmetrically about the body of the garment 42 intermediate the endsthereof are openings 45 having reinforced ends '46. As shown in FIG. 4the openings 45 are at approximately hand level and are provided for theconvenience of the wearer so that he may expose his hands to performnecessary functions. To avoid tearing, the openings 45 are reinforced attheir ends 46 by welding, heat sealing, sewing or any other suitablemeans. Since the garment42 may be worn in an infinitenumber ofcircumferential positions on the wearer, 'it may have a plurality ofopenings 45 in spaced relation about the circumference of the garment..In this manner the wearer will have available to him convenientlylocated openings 45 regardless of the position of the garment upon him.Additional openings may also be provided at ,any locations desired. Theopenings 45, in addition to being reinforced at the edges, may also beoverlapped so that water is discouraged from entering therethrough. Thegarment of FIG. 4 is shown in a position which is 90 rotated from theposition of the garment of FIG. 2. It is formed with a curved topportion 44 the same as the garment of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 5 a rain garment52 is illustrated as having one end closed alonga straight line 53 to form a top portion 54 which has a reinforced loop55 therethrough. The loop 55 may be used as a convenient means forhanging up the garment as explained above. The sides of the garment 52are creased, having a central'crease 56 which is positioned inwardlywith respect to the outer edges of the garment to form two reentrantflaps which are creased at 57 and 58 along the edges. In thisarrangement the garment 52 is easily folded and'stored away, and isinexpensive to manufacture since it requires fewer manufacturingoperations than the device of FIG. 3, for example. The creases 56, 57,and 58 enable a wearer to fold the garment into a small, flat packagewith straight, even sides.

Heretofore, the rain wear has been described as worn by a singleindividual alone. The normal function of a rain coat has always been toprovide protection for only one person at a time, although there havebeen some attempts in the past to provide rainwear which also offersprotection for an occasional package that might be carried by thewearer. The garment of this invention adapts itself especially well to'a protective means of this type; In FIG. 6 a rain garment 62 isillustrated'which has been formed from two separate sheets ofsubstantially transparent and water 'repellant material, which sheetshave been joined together along two edges 63 and'64 to form a generallyshoe-shaped covering. The bottom 65 of the garment 62 is open; v bodynormally occupied by the wearer, the garment 62 has an extension portion65 in what would ordinarily In addition to that portion" of the weightmaterials, it offers protection over a large area without undue weight.

When a synthetic resin is used as the material from which the'garmentsof this invention are fashioned, the edges and openings thereof may besealed or joined by the application of heat to the particular spots 'tobe joined or by welding as by the application of a solvent to the twoedges. Other forms of fastening such as sewing or gluing may also beused for the materials which are particularly adapted for those means.In FIG. 7 a cross sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of the topportion of the garment 'of FIG. 5 is shown. The body of the garment72-is, in this casc,'formed of a thermoplastic which has been heatsealed at the junction 73. As shown the portions of the body 72 whichhave been so sealed flow together to form a unitary portion 73, which ina sense, separates the body of the material 72 from the top portion 74.The joint has been shown as an independent portion of material, butactually, it issolidly joined to- 'both the body 72 and to the topportion 74, providing -a joint which is unlikely to easily tear orseparate. Although this junction has been shown as the top seal of thegarment 72, this type of seal may also be used to reinforce openingswhich are provided at any place in the garment itself.

To enable the garment of this invention to be more easily folded, thematerial from which it is formed may be punctured in appropriatelocations with pin-holes, such as the holes 28 in FIG. 2 and the holes59 in FIG. 5, small enough to keep water from penetrating because ofsurface tension, but enabling entrapped air to escape. The puncturingmay be accomplished by electric sparking, for example. In FIG. 3, thegarment 32 tapers from a narrow top to a wider bottom. This is a normalshape of the garment since adequate room must be provided at the "bottomto "allow the legs space in which to move when walking. However, iffashion or other purposes require otherwise, the garment may be ofuniform diameter or tapered from a wide top to a narrow bottom.

A new form of rainwear has been described above. The garment hasparticular utility where a light weight article of clothing which canreadily-be folded to occupy a small amount of space and which may becarried upon the person at all times is required. The garment of thisinvention, in addition to offering complete protection from the weather,has the further advantage of substantial uniformity throughout itscircumference so that it may be worn in any position and, if necessary,that position may be easily, quickly, and desirably changed whenevernecessary. Modifications have been described for improving the generaland specific functions of this garment as well as to provide protectionfor more than just the individual wearer. It is realized that otherforms 'of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art What isclaimed is: A rain garment adapted to cover the wearer substantial-lycompletely, said garment comprising an elongated tubular body of aflexible transparent synthetic resin material having non-staticproperties, said body having one end closed whereby it may be supportedupon the head of the wearer, the other end of said body being open andproviding a facility for donning and dofling, said body being ofsu'fiicient width to accommodate a wearer and bundles carried in thearms of the wearer and sufliciently long to cover the wearersubstantially entirely, the upper portion of said body being providedwith a plurality of perforations sufiieiently small that water does notpenetrate due to surface tension but which permit the expulsion of airduring folding.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Whiteside Nov. 22, 1921 Beaud Aug. 30, 1927 Masters a Apr. 29, 1941Sydenham et al Jan. 30, 1945 Beall July 4, 1950 Johnson July 18, 1950Chappell Aug. 25, 1953 Davidson et a1. Apr. 27, 1954 Nye Nov. 10, 1959FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Apr. 26, 1951

